Brisbane: Relaxation, Recreation and Rock 'n' Roll

by Barry Shaw

This volume comprises fifteen papers dealing with aspects of popular culture in Brisbane from the 1890s to the 1990s. The paper covers a wide range of subjects in three thematic sections. The first section deals with Brisbane at leisure in the 1890s. The second section focuses on Brisbane at leisure in the twentieth century. The final section considers pubs, publicans and the law. Relaxation, Recreation and Rock ’n’ Roll offers a veritable smorgasbord of papers about popular culture in Brisbane from the 1890s to the present. It looks at entertainment, from the earliest open-air picture theatres to bathing facilities along the Brisbane River, from train excursions to Brisbane seaside resorts, to watching the cricket at the Gabba, and going down the pub for a little light refreshment. The popular radio and television programs of the 1950s are featured, and their impact upon Brisbane audiences. For those preferring live entertainment, there are the international personalities who visited Brisbane, from the famed, but somewhat inconspicuous and restrained, explorer Henry Morton Stanley to the ebullient and energetic Bill Haley. There is much to sample and digest. In fact, the volume is for anyone interested in popular culture in Brisbane, from the nineteenth century to the recent past.

168 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2001